Apple Bets Big on AI With Vision For Home Robots

Apple is developing a tabletop robot, a wheeled home robot, a smart home display, a security camera lineup, and an overhauled Siri powered by large language models. Bloomberg reports the company aims to release the tabletop robot in 2027 and the smart display by the middle of next year.

The tabletop device resembles an iPad on a movable arm that follows users and presents a more visual, conversational Siri. The smart display looks like a square Google Nest Hub, supports face-based personalization for multiple users, and could run a new shared operating system.

Bloomberg says these products position the smart home as Apple's primary staging ground for its generative AI ambitions. They also reveal a renewed push to update Siri after earlier delays left Apple trailing other big tech AI launches.

Illinois passed the “Therapy Resources Oversight” bill prohibiting licensed mental health professionals from using AI for treatment decisions or client communication. It also bans companies from recommending chatbot therapy tools as a be-all alternative to traditional therapy.

Enforcement relies on public complaints investigated by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, with violators facing civil fines up to $10,000. Utah and Nevada enacted similar limits on AI in mental health services in May and late June, respectively.

Experts warn that unregulated chatbots can steer vulnerable users into sensitive disclosures or drastic actions, and a June Stanford study found many chatbots fail to sidestep prompts seeking high bridges to jump from. The bans are difficult to enforce and do not stop people from seeking mental health help from AI on their own.

NASA and Google unveil the Crew Medical Officer Digital Assistant, an AI tool meant to diagnose and treat astronauts when no doctor or communications link is available. The multimodal system targets future moon and Mars missions where reliance on Earth-based medical support is impossible.

CMO-DA operates inside Google Cloud’s Vertex AI under a fixed-price public sector deal, NASA owning the source code and steering model fine-tuning. In trials tackling ankle injury, flank pain, and ear pain, a physician panel judged its treatment plans 88%, 74%, and 80% likely correct, respectively.

The project kicks off NASA’s push for “Earth-independent” healthcare in space and will next integrate device data and microgravity-specific insights. Google remains non-committal on seeking U.S. regulatory approval, yet says lessons from the tool could inform broader healthcare applications.

AI-enabled cyberattacks are escalating across manufacturing, targeting legacy factory systems and supply chains. Industry data shows advanced email attacks surging and confirms manufacturing as the most-attacked sector for four straight years.

At Orion S.A., attackers deceived an employee into executing multiple fraudulent wire transfers, resulting in $60 million in losses. Nucor stopped production at several plants after detecting a cyber intrusion later attributed to a ransomware group.

The sector’s reliance on automation, legacy systems, and complex supply chains leaves it especially exposed to AI-powered threats. Breaches lead to direct financial losses and shutdowns, drive customers away, erode brand trust, and raise cyber insurance costs.

MIT scientists employed generative algorithms to design antibiotics capable of killing drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae and multi-drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The approach delivered two lead molecules, NG1 and DN1, that eliminated the pathogens in both lab dishes and infected mice.

Algorithms produced more than 36 million molecules, then winnowed them through toxicity and novelty filters to a small set that could be synthesized. From two gonorrhea agents and 22 staph agents synthesized, NG1 and DN1 stood out for potent antimicrobial activity.

Both compounds are structurally unlike any approved antibiotic and interfere with bacterial membranes via previously unexploited mechanisms. Researchers say the outcome demonstrates AI’s capacity to explore vast, previously unreachable chemical space for antibiotic discovery.

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